Amazon.com.au:Customer reviews: The Happiness Trap: How to Stop Struggling and Start Living

There are 0 reviews and 0 ratings from Australiawith 2 star

Amazon Customer

I didn’t finish reading

Reviewed in Canada on 22 November 2021

Was recommended by a mental health professional, was annoying bc at times it comes off as condescending to the reader.
The ideas and info were repetitive from other sources but really simple... I think oversimplified for me personally. I regret buying it but since I paid that much I might try and read it again.

One person found this helpful

FRED C SHERWOOD

Two Stars

Reviewed in Canada on 30 January 2018

Verified Purchase

Mumbo jumbo common sense. Meditation will serve you much better

Lelecabral

Two Stars

Reviewed in Canada on 5 February 2016

Verified Purchase

Never actually read the entire book. Lost interest...

One person found this helpful

Amazon Customer

Non-academic, shallow, manipulative self-help book

Reviewed in the United States on 26 May 2022

Verified Purchase

If you're looking into ACT, check out Harris's "Doing What Matters in Times of Stress" published by World Health Organization. It's free, available in non-English languages, and presents ACT better than "Happiness Trap".

p11. "we have have much less [control over our thoughts and feelings] than the "experts" would have us believe."
We never learn who the experts are or what they say, because there are no citations. Three books and ACT website are the only resources you get.

Did you know that 73.2% of statistics are made up?
p43 "Our minds evolved to think negatively, and research shows that about 80 percent of our thoughts have some degree of negative content." Sounded fishy - no citations as usual. Who would possibly count up human thought? After going down a rabbit hole involving a missing 2005 National Science Foundation article, my best guess is that Harris mischaracterized research.

What you'll find in the book:
- Tricks like p12 "As you keep reading this paragraph [describing ice cream], try not to think about your favorite flavor of ice cream... How'd you do? Exactly!"
- Questionnaires, that are full of double-barreled or leading questions
- Genius insights like: p19 "Presumably, if you're reading this book, your life could work better than it does right now."

I was cautious and skeptical of Harris from page 1: "Just suppose for a moment that almost everything you believe about finding happiness turned out to be inaccurate, misleading, or false... And what if almost everyone you knew turned out to be in the same boat - including all those psychologists, psychiatrists, and self-help gurus who claim to have all the answers?"

As far as I'm concerned, Harris IS one of the gurus who claims to have all the answers. I don't trust him.
I trust psychologists who try to evaluate ACT's efficacy via meta-analyses. And there IS evidence for ACT efficacy (look up google scholar).

I think I did end up getting some benefit from ACT, but not from this book. I had to overcome the distrust towards ACT I got from this book to reevaluate and improve my stress management tools.

Glenn L. Olson

Might be valuable for some, not so much for me

Reviewed in the United States on 10 March 2022

Verified Purchase

IF you are not already familiar with mindfulness, setting goals based on values, and other similar wellness ideas, then this book would be a decent introduction. But it takes way too many words to expound upon some simple ideas. It feels like a powerpoint presentation puffed up for book length. Since I have read other pop psychology books and am familiar with many of the ideas and concepts, I found it to have low value for the time and money invested.

Katie Cooper

"unhelpful"

Reviewed in the United States on 1 April 2021

Verified Purchase

Just an FYI to readers, do NOT read if you have a history of trauma. I found it "unhelpful" and threw it away.

3 people found this helpful

Abraham Gale

Publishing a book

Reviewed in the United States on 19 March 2019

Verified Purchase

This is a problem with some books. Someone has a great idea or opinion and he or she expresses it in a few written pages. Then he or she wants to write and publish a book. The standard for a book is at least 180 pages. So the book has many edited repetitions and fillings which make it difficult to finish reading it.

2 people found this helpful

q59230

Basic, basic, basic

Reviewed in the United States on 26 August 2018

Verified Purchase

I get that they were trying to reach as wine an audience as possible, but ultimately, the whole thing just came off as very condescending. I learned nothing new from this book.

3 people found this helpful

Mitch Darnell

If You've Never Done Any Personal Work...

Reviewed in the United States on 29 July 2014

Verified Purchase

Just yet another regurgitation of very primary concepts sans inspiration and true insight.

For those who won't take the time for real, deep work and/or of little or no insight, this could be the right book.

4 people found this helpful

Linda F.

This was recommended by a therapist

Reviewed in the United States on 28 November 2016

Verified Purchase

This was recommended by a therapist. First I do not like negative connotations in the title. ie books for dummies will never be in my home or in eye sight of my kids. There were a few good points but I could sum up the main points in a few pages. Okay for newbies to self-help books. I am also a therapist and I do not agree with using "happiness" as a negative to avoid disappointment. Maybe the author could try writing self-help book called How To Trap Happiness For Yourself

2 people found this helpful

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1 star		2%

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